XSD Schema Explorer
A clean, interactive tree view for .xsd files — instantly understand complex schemas with click-to-jump navigation, hover tooltips, and constraint visualization.
Features
🌳 Interactive Schema Tree
A dedicated XSD Explorer panel in the Activity Bar shows the complete logical structure of your schema:
- Global Elements — all top-level
xs:element declarations
- Complex Types — all
xs:complexType definitions with their full hierarchy
- Simple Types —
xs:simpleType with restriction facets
- Attribute Groups — reusable attribute collections
- Groups — named model groups
🖱️ Click-to-Jump Navigation
Click any node in the tree → VS Code instantly jumps to the exact line where that element or type is defined, with a 1.5-second highlight flash so you never lose your place.
Hover over any tree node to see:
- Full type information and base type
minOccurs / maxOccurs values (displayed as ∞ for unbounded)- All constraint facets:
minLength, maxLength, pattern, enumeration, minInclusive, totalDigits, etc.
- Whether the element is
nillable, abstract, or mixed
- Documentation from
xs:annotation/xs:documentation
- Source line number
♻️ Live Refresh
- Auto-refresh on save — tree updates automatically when you save the XSD file
- Debounced live refresh — tree also updates 1.5 seconds after you stop typing
- Manual refresh — click the refresh button or run
XSD Schema Explorer: Refresh Tree
📊 Occurrence Indicators
Elements clearly show their cardinality:
[0..1] — optional[0..∞] — zero or more[1..∞] — one or more[2..5] — custom range- (no badge) — exactly once (required)
Getting Started
- Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
- Open any
.xsd file
- Click the XSD Explorer icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
- The Schema Tree panel opens with your schema structure
No configuration needed. No Java. No external APIs. 100% local.
Commands
| Command |
Description |
XSD Schema Explorer: Refresh Tree |
Force-refresh the schema tree |
XSD Schema Explorer: Collapse All |
Collapse all nodes |
Configuration
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
xsdSchemaExplorer.autoRefresh |
true |
Auto-refresh tree on file save |
xsdSchemaExplorer.showOccurrenceIndicators |
true |
Show [min..max] badges |
xsdSchemaExplorer.showTypeNames |
true |
Show type names next to element names |
Supported XSD Constructs
| Construct |
Supported |
xs:element (global & local) |
✅ |
xs:complexType |
✅ |
xs:simpleType |
✅ |
xs:sequence, xs:choice, xs:all |
✅ |
xs:attribute |
✅ |
xs:attributeGroup |
✅ |
xs:group |
✅ |
xs:extension (inheritance) |
✅ |
xs:restriction + all facets |
✅ |
xs:annotation / xs:documentation |
✅ |
xs:include / xs:import |
✅ (resolved and merged) |
xs:any |
✅ |
Tree Icons
| Icon |
Meaning |
| 🔵 Variable |
Required element |
| ⚪ Field |
Optional element (minOccurs=0) |
| 🟠 Class |
Complex type |
| 🟢 String |
Simple type |
| 🔷 Property |
Attribute |
| 📦 Namespace |
Attribute group |
| 📐 Module |
Group |
⟨sequence⟩ |
Ordered sequence |
⟨choice⟩ |
Choice (pick one) |
⟨all⟩ |
All (any order) |
extends X |
Type extension |
restricts X |
Type restriction |
Example
Open a large payment-service.xsd and instantly see:
Schema: payment-service.xsd
├── Global Elements (3)
│ ├── PaymentRequest [1..1] PaymentRequestType
│ │ ├── transactionId [1..1] xs:string
│ │ ├── amount [1..1] xs:decimal
│ │ ├── customer [0..1] CustomerType
│ │ │ ├── extends BaseCustomer
│ │ │ ├── id [1..1] xs:string
│ │ │ └── address [0..1] AddressType
│ │ └── notes [0..1] xs:string
│ ├── PaymentResponse [1..1] PaymentResponseType
│ └── PaymentError [1..1] PaymentErrorType
├── Complex Types (8)
│ ├── PaymentRequestType
│ ├── CustomerType
│ └── ...
└── Simple Types (4)
├── CurrencyCode
└── ...
Click customer → cursor jumps straight to <xs:element name="customer"...>.
Hover amount → tooltip shows minInclusive: 0.01, totalDigits: 10.
- Handles schemas with 5000+ lines without lag
- Debounced live updates prevent excessive re-parsing while typing
- Zero external dependencies — pure TypeScript, runs entirely in VS Code
Why XML Schema Explorer?
|
XSD Treeview |
Red Hat XML |
XSD Schema Explorer |
| Dedicated tree view |
Basic |
❌ |
✅ Full |
| Click-to-jump |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
| Hover constraints |
❌ |
Partial |
✅ All facets |
| Occurrence indicators |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
| Live auto-refresh |
❌ |
❌ |
✅ |
| Zero dependencies |
✅ |
❌ (Java) |
✅ |
v1.2.2 - Older version
🔍 Live search – real‑time filtering with Ctrl+F, match badges, and auto‑expansion.
Added Update 1.2.3
- Cross‑file resolution –
xs:include and xs:import are now resolved recursively. Click‑to‑jump works across multiple files.
- Live search / filter – Press
Ctrl+F to filter the tree by name, type, or attribute (added in v1.2.2, now fully integrated).
v1.2.7 - Minor updates.
Note: Versions v1.2.4 and v1.2.5 briefly used the incorrect name "XML Xchema Explorer" due to a typo.
The extension functionality was unchanged. Newer versions restore the correct naming: "XSD Schema".
v1.2.8.
- Enhanced
xs:any tooltips – Display namespace and processContents details.
🗺️ Roadmap / Upcoming Features
The following features are planned for future releases:
- Graphical diagram – Visual schema overview using Mermaid.
- Sample XML generation – Right‑click any complex type to generate a sample XML instance.
License
MIT
